Broken Bones
by Enigmaticat
Summary: A new case brings back ghosts from Bones' past. As always, Booth is right in there with her, helping her come to terms with some things she would have rather kept buried... I'm getting there slowly, not there yet!
1. Chapter 1

_Big shock, I don't own Bones or anything pertaining to; many congratulations on all the clever people who do!_

_Ok folks, first Bones fanfic. Infact, first fanfic period. So be nice to me please! This went absolutely nowhere close to where I intended it to go and it seems like it wants to be a little stand-alone story, but if you want me to try and direct it back on course I will consider, although I was a bit shocked to realise just how rusty my creative juices are!_

_Thanks a bunch,_

_Enigmaticat_

* * *

Dr. Temperance Brennan placed the last of the bones in a box, a look of quiet satisfaction on her face. Another days work and another faceless victim identified. These small triumphs were what made the grizzly work of identifying human remains worthwhile.

It had started out as a response to the disappearance of her parents. It wasn't a frantic search for their bodies, but it came from a need to do something. Temperance was not the sort of person who could sit idly by when the facts didn't add up. Sometimes it was about giving the victim's family a sense of closure and allowing them to properly grieve. Sometimes it was about unlocking the secrets of ancient civilisations, reassembling bones to recreate history. More recently, it was about reconstructing a homicide to identify and bring justice to a perpetrator. But most of all, it was about finding answers, putting all the pieces together until everything fit into place beyond a shadow of a doubt. They may not be the answers to the questions that she most wanted to ask, but they were answers and that was a start.

Replacing the lid on the box, she filled out the identification card and placed it in the slot at the front. It was late; she would have to send it down for shipping tomorrow. Rubbing absently at her temple, she spun about in her chair and was surprised to see a man standing at the door to her office.

"Bones, you know, sleep isn't an indication of weakness, and even if it were you have already proven you can go without it…"

Rolling her eyes, she allowed a wry smile to escape her lips as she gestured at the box of bones still sitting on her desk. "Booth, I am well aware that sleep is a biological imperative, just as I am aware of the fact that the ideal sleep requirement varies for each person according to age, activity level, quality of sleep and genetics. I myself function quite adequately on six solid hours a night, and am quite capable of putting myself to bed without your interference. Besides, I was just finishing up."

Booth threw his hands up and took an exaggerated step back. "Whoa there Bones, save some for the thesis! No need to jump down my throat…" Booth watched as the woman's eyes glazed over, the look she got when she was struggling to connect a concept which alluded her.

"I may have been somewhat brusque in my response, but you engaged it with a rather foolish question and I have absolutely no intention of kissing you…"

It was now Booth's turn to be confused. His mouth hung open for a moment, his mind working frantically to come up with the words he wanted. "Umm… ok, well… that's very good Bones, I wasn't planning on kissing you either and… what?"

"You insinuated that I wanted to kiss you, and I don't! I understand that on occasion two people who are already in an intimate relationship might experience a sudden shift from argument to passion, but we are not in an intimate relationship and so it goes without saying that I don't have to, nor do I want to, jump down your throat!"

Booth stood looking slightly stunned for a few moments, before a grin began to work it's way across his face. Soon, he was struggling to contain his laughter. All the while, Temperance was staring at him like he had gone quite mad, and he was beginning to see why.

"What's so funny?"

Taking a deep breath, Booth finally managed to pull himself together. "Not jump me and stick your tongue down my throat, jump down my throat. It means… it means you were telling me off, and you didn't need to."

On that note, Booth burst into peals of laughter, unable to hold back any longer. Temperance on the other hand didn't appear to share in his amusement, glaring at him as the heat rose to her face.

"Ok, I'm good, I'm ok…" Booth shut his eyes, sucked a few lungful of air and then opened them to see his partner still glaring at him in distain. "I'm sorry Bones, it was just so funny and… I'm sorry. Look, it's late, how about we just call it a night?"

Bones shrugged. "You know, in children, sudden uncontrollable hysterics are often a sign of overtiredness…"

"I thought you didn't know anything about children?" Booth smiled good-humouredly. "If I didn't know better, I would think that you were just reacting because you were embarrassed at being found out with kissing on the brain…"

Temperance shot out of her seat and stalked towards him with her hands on her hips. "Perhaps that would make more sense if I hadn't been quite explicit about the fact that I did not want to kiss you!" She was right up in his face now, chin tilted up so she could glare at him in the eyes, daring him to disagree with her. Instead, he gave her another maddening smile, letting her know that he was not to be intimidated. "Don't try and charm your way out of this one Booth, you know that won't work with me, and I…"

Her words tapered off as he gently placed a finger to her lips. Leaning forward, he inclined his head and whispered in her ear. "Goodnight, Bones." Then, turning quickly, he retreated through her door and disappeared down the corridor.

Temperance gave a long sigh and realised she had been holding her breath.


	2. Chapter 2

_Big shock, I still don't own Bones or anything pertaining to; many congratulations on all the clever people who do!  
Thanks heaps to all the lovely people who commented on my first chapter; makes me all warm and gooey inside! I've changed the name of the story and am going ahead with something like the original plan; so far it's actually almost on track! Huzzah!  
Enigmaticat_

* * *

It was early morning, and Dr. Brennan once again found herself sitting in her office, working. She hadn't slept all that well the night before, tossing and turning and waking up constantly throughout the night. Still, she was due to receive the remains of what she hoped was a genuine Inca mummy sometime during the morning; that was worth waking up for. In the meantime, she had a box of bones to deliver to storage. Rechecking her email and satisfying herself that she had nothing more urgent to do, she gulped the last of her coffee, tossed the empty cup in the rubbish bin, and strode out the door.

She was on her way back from storage when she heard a shout from behind her. "Hey Bones, we got a case." Booth jogged to catch up with her, and was about to start spitting out details when he noticed the look on her face. "I thought I told you to get some sleep last night! Looks like your six hours just didn't cut it, unless you've got some fancy bit of science to explain away the bags under your eyes…"

Temperance huffed in exasperation. "I said I need six _solid _hours of sleep. Not that I can think of a single reason for why I should be held accountable to you for ensuring I get my nightly sleep requirement, but for the record I went to bed unusually early and slept uncommonly badly. I couldn't stop thinking."

"Ooh, thinking about anything in particular? Or anyone?" Booth flashed a wicked grin.

Brennan's face was deadpan as she explained to him, "as a matter of fact, yes; I'm supposed to be authenticating what I hope to identify as the remains of an Inca mummy unearthed in a dig in Peru a few weeks ago."

"Well, that mummy is just going to have to wait a bit longer because we have a case. Some guys doing maintenance down in the sewer found something a lot nastier than a river of crap…"

"If you think that is an amusing way of telling me that you have found a body, then you are sorely mistaken Booth," Brennan said, raising her eyebrows in a show of disapproval.

"Nope, nothing funny about a dead person in a sewer."

"Then why are you smiling at me like that? You're telling me it's not funny, it doesn't seem funny, but you're looking at me like I'm missing the joke." Brennan was beginning to feel quite annoyed at the silly look on Booth's face.

Booth looked a bit sheepish when he confessed, "I dunno… just thought it was a kinda crappy way to die… get it? Crappy as in sewer?" On seeing that Bones was clearly unimpressed, Booth hurried to apologise. "Ok, bad pun, point is, I need you to come with me."

Brennan sighed her resignation as she went into her office, followed by Booth. Picking up her kit, she marched off to tell Zach where she was going.

---

Booth slammed his hands down hard on the steering wheel, muttering angrily at what was their fourth red traffic light in a row. Bones turned to look at him with a smirk. She used a calm, deliberate voice, speaking slowly and stringing her words out as she told him, "you do realise that hitting the steering wheel will have no effect on how soon this light changes… don't you?".

Booth took a deep breath before answering her, "yes Bones, I do realise that. No doubt you can tell me the anthropological reasoning behind hitting steering wheels, and no doubt it will have something to do with asserting my alpha male dominance, but can we please save it 'till we get out of all this damn traffic?".

Bones looked momentarily affronted by this response, before grinning slyly. "I must have forgotten that males also are less efficient at multi-tasking and are prone to being confrontational when they are feeling insecure." Booth opened his mouth to protest this apparent assumption of his insecurities but was drowned out by the sound of Debbie Harry's "French Kissing in the USA" blaring from his car speakers. Beside him, his partner sat demurely gazing out the window, looking anything but innocent. It was going to be a long drive…


End file.
